A few notes about Constitution's guns based on some recent scholarship that may be helpful with your models. There are differing opinions regarding what
Constitution actually carried for weapons. Some assert that by the War of 1812, all of
Constitution's guns were of American manufacture. Others argue that they remained a mix of manufacture, British and American. Here is a short summary of some of these opinions and what is presently known.
It is generally agreed that
Constitution's array of weapons changed frequently, sometimes even during a deployment. When first built, it is believed that
Constitution carried American-made Furnace Hope 1794-pattern 24-pounder guns that were 8 feet long (relatively short for 24-pounders) on her gun deck. The Furnace Hope Iron Works was located in Rhode Island. On her spar deck,
Constitution at first carried a mix of 18-pounders and 12-pounder long guns obtained from various sources. The 18-pounders may have been "fortification cannons", meant for army use, and sourced from Ft. Independence in Boston Harbor. It is believed that the 18-pounders were soon landed leaving only the 12-pounder long guns on her spar deck.
Constitution likely first put to sea with only the short 24-pounders on her gun deck and 12-pounders on her spar deck.
Recent scholarship indicates that the Furnace Hope short 24-pounders, having been found to be inaccurate and having insufficient range, were replaced in 1808 by 9'-6" long 24-pounders produced by the Cecil Iron Works in Maryland. If correct, this means that the 24-pounders
Constitution carried on her gun deck during the War of 1812 were all 9'-6" American-made guns. Some historians assert that the new Cecil Iron Works 1808-pattern cannons were close copies of the very successful British Blomefield 1790-pattern 24-pounder cannons.
These Cecil Iron Works-made 24-pounder Blomefield copies were the largest weapons typically fit to heavy frigates.
Constitution carried as many as 30 of these guns, all on the gun deck, each firing a 24-pound shot. Here's a replica:
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The 12-pounder long guns on her spar deck were also found to be largely ineffective, less desirable than carronades, perhaps because carronades fired a heavier shot, required a smaller crew, and were lighter and smaller, distinct advantages on a spar deck. It is generally agreed that Captain John Rodgers took 8 carronades aboard in 1804 and mounted them 4 to a side at the waist, forward of the 12-pounders. They were found to be very capable and complimented the 24-pounders on the gun deck very well. These 8 carronades were probably made by Henry Foxall of the Columbia Iron Works at Georgetown, Maryland (now a Washington, DC suburb), but this is not certain.
The carronades proved so popular, that in 1808, the Secretary of the Navy acted on a recommendation by
Constitution's captain Hugh Campbell and directed Henry Foxall, owner of the Columbia Iron Works, to produce 24 32-pounder carronades to replace all of the relatively small 12-pounder long guns on
Constitution's spar deck (not the 24-pounder long guns on her gun deck). Some historians assert that Foxall delivered all 24 of the 32-pounder carronades ordered, therefore
Constitution went to sea with these weapons in 1809. If so, this means that all of
Constitution's carronades during the War of 1812 were weapons of Columbia Iron Works manufacture. See:
http://www.captainsclerk.info/speaks/book07.htmlThe replica carronades that appear on the real USS
Constitution today are not accurate 1808-pattern carronades. They are 1840-pattern "gunnades", with a trunnion and different carriage (more properly called a "skead"). True carronades do not have a trunnion. True carronades have a block cast on the bottom of the gun through which an iron pin is inserted to hold them to a wooden slide which rests on the skead. True carronades have a screw to adjust elevation. On gunnades, elevation is adjusted by changing the position of a wooden wedge under the breech. Below is a replica 1840-pattern "gunnade" as seen on
Constitution today. Note the trunnion and elevation block:
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con10.jpg [ 148.84 KiB | Viewed 3990 times ]
Below is a true "carronade", nearly identical to what would have been on
Constitution during the War of 1812. Note the block and pin holding the gun to the slide on the skead and the elevation screw:
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carronade 15531410239_f890469554_b.jpg [ 344.22 KiB | Viewed 3990 times ]
Constitution's carronades, if American-made by Columbia Iron Works, would have had a hemispherical cascabel (breech) rather than the stepped cascabel you see on the British-made carronade above.
Other scholars state that American ships of the time are known to have carried a mix of 24-pounders and some argue that
Constitution's guns were possibly of mixed manufacture, at least at first. According to noted naval historian Howard I. Chapelle, British-type and even British-made guns were often employed on American ships because, "There was in addition the old trouble of getting the proper guns manufactured. The 24-pounders of the Federal Navy were not the same in model, weight and dimension in all of the ships carrying them. Some of the guns were on the British model, some were fortification cannon, and some were made on what was intended to be the standard model." American-made guns were often copies of British-made guns. Mr. Chappelle explains, "The long guns and carronades followed the British pattern rather closely but had less windage and fired a slightly heavier shot."*
Hope this helps fire your imagination about the days of wooden ships and iron men.
Shameless plug: Model Monkey produces accurate, 3D-printed model cannons and true carronades of both British and American design in several popular scales. Here's a pair of 3D-printed Columbia Iron Works 1808 true carronades. Note the accurate hemispherical cascabel, elevation screw, and skead:
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Model Monkey 32-pounder Carronade and Skead.b.jpg [ 112.77 KiB | Viewed 3990 times ]
* "The History of the American Sailing Navy" by Howard I. Chappelle, pg. 132.
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